Unions

Category archives for Unions

I wish national Democrats and their hangers-on had half the guts the Wisconsin Senate Democrats do. If you haven’t heard, Wisconsin’s Republican governor Scott Walker is attempting to strip public sector unions of their collective bargaining rights. This comes on top of other recent stupidities by Walker, including turning down $810 million in risk-fee construction…

As the ongoing assault against public sector employees continues, it’s worth remembering why Martin Luther King was in Memphis when he was assassinated: he was supporting striking sanitation workers. Due to conservative revisionism, we seem to have forgotten the radicalism of King, that he detested both war and economic rampant inequality. There was much to…

Or, at least, don’t obey Massachusetts law and receive the healthcare they are entitled to. Esterline Technologies demonstrates that much of what passes for ‘rational business decision making’ is actually ideology combined with petty personal vendetta. From Yves Smith: This story illustrates how far some companies are willing to go to preserve their bottom lines…

I write about education and educational data a lot, and I’m always struck by the insistence that the U.S. K-12 educational system is DOOMED! This is a staggering display of willful ignorance that rivals creationism (and, arguably, is more pernicious). Without going through the entire backstory (that’s what links are for), some U.S. states–relatively large…

(from here) Last weekend, Glenn Beck and his Tea Party dupes decided to ‘reclaim’ Martin Luther King’s legacy. In light of that, this speech King gave to striking sanitation workers in Memphis seems appropriate–and puts the lie to Beck’s propaganda: My dear friends, my dear friend James Lawson, and all of these dedicated and distinguished…

Or bigotry. Because union carpenters are the new Muslim. Or something. Here’s a refreshing exchange of free speech (italics mine): …at an anti-Mosque demonstration down in Lower Manhattan, when a black man walking through the crowd was… mistaken for a Muslim by the crowd — angrily. The video, shot by amateur YouTube videographer “lefthandedart,” opens…

Finally, large, mainstream organizations that have traditionally supported Democrats are not rewarding bad behavior. From Arkansas, where incumbent corporate shill and supposed Democrat Blanche Lincoln is in a primary fight for her life. From The NY Times: CONWAY, Ark. — They have knocked on 170,000 doors, made 700,000 phone calls, sent 2.7 million pieces of…

Image by Bettmann/CORBIS With ten percent unemployment, and nearly eighteen percent underemployment–and much of the political establishment unconcerned about this–Martin Luther King’s passion for economic justice sadly is still relevant. What is forgotten about Kings–often willfully–is that he was an advocate for racial and economic justice. From a speech he gave to striking sanitation workers…

In one of his last speeches before Martin Luther King was murdered, he spoke to striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. It seems appropriate for the day: My dear friends, my dear friend James Lawson, and all of these dedicated and distinguished ministers of the Gospel assembled here tonight, to all of the sanitation workers…

One of the things that I’ve long suspected about charter schools is that they’re an unsustainable model: they rely on incredibly motivated teachers (who I think are a pretty motivated lot to begin with) who are willing to work even longer hours for essentially the same pay (or sometimes less). I’m not sure how to…